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Wei Jie’s eyes flashed with a sharp light as he looked at Ye Zichen. Roughly twenty percent of factions had yet to fall under Upheaval or the Parliament of Star’s jurisdiction. Of them, most were branches of families from the Divine Mountains.
All of them had support from above, so despite Upheaval and the Parliament of Stars’ vast forces, these families looked down on them.
Ice Blue City’s Gao Family was one such faction.
Ye Zichen didn’t answer directly. Instead, he sat down and mulled it over. Little White looked back and forth between him and Wei Jie, then asked despite himself, “Are you talking about the Gao Family that’s subordinate to the Lightning Emperor’s Xiao Family?”
When he said that, both Ye Zichen and Wei Jie glanced at him. “The Parliament of Stars knows about that too?”
Although Ye ZIchen had already told Wei Jie that the Parliament of Stars was on their side, the two factions had been fighting for half a year and had crossed paths continuously. Becoming allies all of a sudden was a difficult adjustment, so his words still came out somewhat barbed.
Little White understood this, and disregarded Wei Jie’s tone. He frowned and said, “We know a little, but we don’t understand all that much. However, Yin Shang once ordered us to pay particular attention to any group affiliated with the Xiao Family. Boss….”
His gaze landed on Ye Zichen. Although Little White didn’t finish his sentence, Ye Zichen already knew what he was trying to say.
It seemed that the Xiao Family and Yin Shang were also opposed to each other.
Gao Yunting had turned against the Gao Family. To Ye Zichen, this was absolutely wonderful news. If he set a fire in the backyards of families subordinate to the Xiao Family, well, he’d be delighted to watch them burn.
As for whether to get involved or not, he’d have to think it over carefully. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing to reveal himself in front of the Xiao Family too soon.
“What’s the Gao Family’s current situation?”
As soon as he asked, Wei Jie immediately responded, “We have firsthand information that Gao Yunting has set his entire forces against the Gao Family. Ovr forty percent of their subordinate families and factions stand with him, while roughly sixty stand with the Gao Family. However, no matter who wins, the Gao Family’s overall power will suffer a major blow.”
Ye Zichen shook his head. Although Wei Jie had answered in detail, his explanation didn’t include the information he was looking for.
Since the Gao Family had fallen into turmoil, the Xiao Family had to have sent people to help out. He wanted to know which side the Xiao Family stood with.
“Boss?” asked Wei Jie tentatively. Hee could sense that Ye Zichen was displeased with his report.
Ye Zichen didn’t waste time with riddles ad got right to the point. “Has the Xiao Family really not shown up yet?”
“This….” Wei Jie’s words stuck in his throat. His subordinates’ reports truly hadn’t mentioned anything about the Xiao Family. His subordinates had only given him information about the Gao Family and asked whether they should act or not.
Right at that moment, Wei Jie’s jade transmission slip lit up. He picked it up, examined his contents with his spiritual awareness, then sat it back down, a satisfied smile on his face.
“Boss, you’re amazing! As soon as you mentioned the Xiao Family, my subordinates reported that a few supreme-level experts arrived to assist the Gao family head. As soon as they showed up, Gao Yunting’s side crumbled, and they’re currently making a desperate last stand. Those supremes were all sent from the Xiao Family.
“As expected.” Ye Zichen nodded calmly and took in the information. “We should no longer get involved in Gao Family affairs. Let them handle their internal conflict on their own.”
Wei Jie nodded. With the support of the Xiao Family’s experts, even if they wanted to get involved, it wouldn’t end well for them.
Compared with forcing their way into the Gao Family’s conflict and exhausting their own reserves in the process, it was better to sit back and watch the two sides duke it out.
“You shouldn’t stay here too long; it’s best to avoid others noticing your presence,” said Ye Zichen to Wei Jie. His eyes flashed with a sharp light. “After you go back, keep a closer eye on the Gao Family’s situation. Although the Xiao Family is currently protecting them, that doesn’t mean those Xiao Family experts will stick around forever. So long as they leave, hmph. You ought to understand my meaning, right?”
Ye Zichen had formed quite a few grudges with the Xiao Family dating back to his time in the Three Realms. Although he wasn’t strong enough to directly oppose the Lightning Emperor’s family yet, he could take on their subordinates in the lower lands as interest.
Wei Jie’s eyes lit up as well. A smile tugged at his lips and he nodded. “Understood.”
Upheaval’s grand procession left Little White’s residence. Little White, as someone who’d followed Ye Zichen all this time, was keenly aware of Ye Zichen’s relationship with the Xiao Family, and how deep his boss’s hatred for them really was.
In their final battle all those years ago, the Beast Region, Immortal Region, Heavenly Court, and Underworld all suffered grievous losses.
The warriors who bravely sacrificed themselves for future generations without any concern for their own lives included Ye Zichen’s dear friends and lovers.
After going through all that, Little White knew that beneath Ye Zichen’s even-tempered exterior, just hearing the name “The Lightning Emperor’s Xiao Family” shook his heart to the core.
Xia Keke…..
Hadn’t she died to protect him from the heavenly lightning!?
“Boss.” Little White wanted to console him, but he was no longer than rejected battle dog from before; he’d been through enough that he knew when to speak up and when to keep quiet.
In the end, his long and heartfelt words became nothing but a gentle pat on the shoulder.
Ye Zichen, sensing his friend’s concern, couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m fine, you don’t need to act like that. Besides…. Keke isn’t necessarily dead.”
“Boss, are you saying….” Little White’s eyes instantly widened. Before he could ask, he saw Ye Zichen grin back at him, then look at the other side of the River Styx and sigh.
“It’s possible that she’s deep within the Yao Realm, but I’m not too certain.”
This information came from Gu Zichen. He hadn’t verified it, but Ye Zichen would rather believe it was true.
“Then I’ll have someone investigate. So long as we discover even the slightest news, I’ll contact you immediately, Boss.”
“Then I’ll just have to trouble you.”
“What are you talking about? Given our relationship, there’s no need to even mention ‘trouble.’” Little White grinned at Ye Zichen, then left in a hurry to instruct his clansmen to investigate Xia Keke’s situation.
Howling Celestial dogs were still primordial divine beasts. They had at least some contact with sacred beasts like dragons.
With his help, he might very well be able to verify news of Xia Keke’s survival before long.
Whenever he closed his eyes, that image of Xia Keke in golden dragon form still lingered in his mind. She’d used her body to shield him from the lightning, even when it shattered her scales. She didn’t stop until the end, when it killed her…..
In this lifetime, he would never forget this grudge…. At the same time, he would never forget his grudge against the Xiao Family.
They’d used heavenly lightning to hurt and reject him, and at the same time, had hurt far too many people he held dear. This grudge……
Needed to be avenged!
The Gao Family was just the first step of his vengeance against the Xiao Family!
